Fishing Mountain Home area on a day trip?

[grizwilson]

If you do cross the shoal at Rim, take your phone, if you get trapped by rising water call (870)435-6144 They will come rescue you, or better yet just go to the Rim Shoals office and for a small fee they will water taxi you to the island, and come get you at a set time or you can call for pickup.  They keep an eye on the river. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

25 minutes ago, grizwilson said:

If you do cross the shoal at Rim, take your phone, if you get trapped by rising water call (870)435-6144 They will come rescue you, or better yet just go to the Rim Shoals office and for a small fee they will water taxi you to the island, and come get you at a set time or you can call for pickup.  They keep an eye on the river. 

Flippins are great people!   

[tjm]

I suppose it'll turn out either Cotter or the dam area of Norfork. Thanks all for the input.

[snagged in outlet 3]

1 hour ago, tjm said:

I suppose it'll turn out either Cotter or the dam area of Norfork. Thanks all for the input.

Let us know how it goes please 

[tjm]

Update- turns out that the trip was postponed until yesterday, got down there about 10ish and he had the business done in a bit, we stopped into two fly shops, looked over the river at the Cotter walk in access and decided to move on to the Norfork area.

Fished a couple of hours to very cooperative rainbows, I basically stood ankle deep  in one  place not far from the ramp and caught several over a  foot long and a  couple of ~3#ers plus broke off a nice one, and of course missed a number of takes.

Most of the action was on a poorly tied #12 Usual with the other fly that I used being a #16 soft hackle pheasant tail fished like dry.

Son fished just below where the little side branch runs in and caught several, not sure how big the fish or what kind of flies he used. He did come up to where I was standing just above the riffle, about 3pm when he was ready to start home; and  after looking at the water, told me that it would have been the last place he would have chosen to fish. Well that must be  what all the other guys thought too, because no one else was there when I got rigged up, which is often my criteria of where to start. 

Was a good day for it,  with overcast and not too cold, and no rain while on the water; but I'm not sure I want to spend that much travel time on so little stream time again soon.  Guess I'm gettin old. Whatever the flow was yesterday, minimal (?) I guess, it was just right for me, although I did wish I'd brought a staff when wading the rough mossy bottom.

Sorry, no pictures, I didn't even think about that while fishing.

[BilletHead]

                     Good report and good times with your son. Well done!

[tjm]

Those fish were so eager to eat that big rabbit foot fly that I'm sure a competent dry fly angler with some tiny  BWOs could have taken 50-100 right there. When my son interviewed the Pros in both shops they recommended nymphs and eggs and it looked to me like that's what everyone else was using. I just used what was on my vest from a trip to Capps last month.

It was more fun because it was the first time out with a new to me late 1950s Phillipson made rod that looked previously unused and the first cast took one of the larger fish.

 

[tjm]

So it turns out he was taking pictures when I wasn't looking- the first shows the discharge, I'm in the middle of the image; the fish is in the middle of the second image left of the rock after it tamed down.